It's time for this week's AggieYell Mailbag, sponsored by Tres Hermanos 1850, a hunting ranch with native and exotic game, near Gatesville, Texas. Check out their website here.
Q: Are there still any HS recruits available that A&M is interested in signing in Feb?
A: Yes, 3-star OL Caden Jones. And we’ll probably hear new names pop up over the next month-plus. That’s happened before.
Also, will A&M replace the numbers lost due to the portal? (Ag20)
A: They’d better if they want to field a football team.
Q: Who is your favorite signee in this class and why? (Colt_Seavers)
A: This is a very, very tough question. I like Rueben Owens to the point where I think he could start immediately. I think Micah Tease is a real weapon. David Hicks, obviously, has star potential (when he signs). But I’ll go with Dalton Brooks. I think this guy could be another Antonio Johnson. He’s fast, athletic, has good size and can hit.
Q: Recruiting staff question. Who left A&M for other jobs that made last years class as great as it was. Sounds like many on the recruiting staff left from last year. Why not pay them to stay?
A: It’s not that simple. It’s not like they made lateral moves; they got promoted.
Was last years class a success because of the coaching staff or recruiting staff? What is different this year? (Guns-n-bone)
A: It was a combination of both. This year, I think you had a little complacency set in and you had a real overhaul of the recruiting staff. That hurt.
Q: 1. Can you give a quick comparison of TJ Shanahan vs Kenyon Green as a college freshman? Wondering if you think TJ will have the same early success based on what you've seen of him playing in games and in camps.
A: Kenyon’s bigger. He’s broader, and I think probably a little stronger. Shanahan is a little quicker, has a great punch and he has no problem playing dirty. Now, will he have the same success immediately? No, I doubt it, because he probably won’t get the immediate playing time Kenyon did. First, you’ve got quality guards in front of him and, maybe more importantly, he’s still rehabbing an ACL injury.
2. Any of the other incoming frosh OL have the potential to be in the two deep come September 2023? (Pebbycree)
A: Sure. Owens, Tease, Bravion Rogers, Brooks, Daymion Sanford — all those guys could be.
Q: With high school recruiting, I feel like the coaches are sometimes the go between between colleges and the players. With regards to players in the portal, are they just emailing schools themselves? Is there usually a go-between or is it just up to the players to contact all the schools? (Naytch)
A: That really depends on the player. They have the option to say coaches can’t contact them and they’ll contact schools they’re interested themselves. But high school coaches are still used as intermediaries for players — in fact, that's where a lot of the tampering happens. “If you talk to so-and-so, tell them they’re being misused and they can do better at my school.”
Q: Any idea which guys inked today are to be early enrollies? (BoxsterBoy72)
A: Shanahan, Owens, Jayvon Thomas, Jaden Platt, Colton Thomasson, Sanford and Taurean York are all early enrollees. The fact that Sanford and York will be in is fantastic for the linebacker corps.
Q: When will we start to see transfers into A&M announced?
A: How about today?
I think I remember this portal is open until January 18th. With 15ish slots that you indicated might be there, how many do you think he fills with transfers? What would be the targets there? (DentonAg80)
A: I think they’ll try to fill as many as they can to get back to 85. They may leave a couple open for the spring portal, though. I'd be looking for another corner, a couple of linebackers, as many receivers as I can get my hands on and an offensive tackle or two. Then the best players available.
Q: We've been focused on ESD, and now we can get back to talking about the OC job. I am sure you're thrilled.
Jimbo indicated they are talking to several candidates. Can you share anything about potential candidates they are serious about?
A: I did earlier today. At least a couple that are, as they say, “on the radar”.
Do you think if we had gotten Riley a week or so ago if we would have been in play on some additional offensive talent?
A: Maybe, but I don’t know who. They actually did well, all things considered.
Do you think our OC job is a coveted position among up and comers, or just another opportunity? (Maddog83)
A: Considering how well they pay and the potential, I would think up and comers would be very, very interested.
Q: What positions are remaining in the two deep that NEED to be fixed by transfers to avoid another year of playing too many freshman again?
—Any idea which of these are easy vs hard to fill via portal?
A: Well, like I said, corner, linebacker and wideout. I think linebacker, unfortunately, will be the hardest to fill. But they’ve still got to get after it.
How do analysts and sites like yours evaluate total team talent with recruiting classes plus transfers? It used to be a measurement of the last few classes, but not sure how to rank roster mgmt going forward. (Jeffmc)
A: Just me, but I look at transfers differently than I do recruiting classes. High schoolers are still largely based on potential; transfers you can base (most times) on production. So they’re closer to to being like your returning players than a high school recruit, and I evaluate them as such.
Q: Question two. Do you see any coaches that are currently on staff not being retained for next year? If so can you elaborate on how many? I can’t imagine a world where our offensive line coach is allowed to stay. (Maroon1)
A: I think the defensive staff is safe. I do think there could be some changes on the offensive side of the ball at multiple spots once an OC hire is made, and that's about as comfortable as I am in saying. But you can take a guess and seem to be off to a good start.
Q: I see a lot of negativity about Buzz and the basketball program right now. Obviously the season is a disappointment so far. In your opinion, what is wrong and can it be fixed when conference play begins? (Agrabfan)
A: What's wrong is a lack of continuity. When the Aggies went on their big run last year, they were operating as a unit, not a bunch of single players. There’s been a bunch of turnover on the team and I think they’re still trying to figure each other out. They blew the game against Wofford with a bunch of turnovers, which I don’t think would have been the case with a more cohesive team. So, like an offensive line, what’s the solution? More reps. And that will take them into conference play, where hopefully they’ll mesh.
Q: Name your top 5 portal players you think Ags can land (84Ag)
A: At this point, I don't know. They’ve got two offers out to wideouts who haven’t committed anywhere and that's about all I know right now.
Q: Too early to talk about the spring ball competitions? (Richard23)
A: Unfortunately. Don't know who all the particulars will be.
Q: Can you name a daycare with as many petulant attendees as what is on this recruiting board?
A: No, but daycares are not my specialty.
Q: Did Cody talk you into getting her a phone for Christmas? (H273)
A: Nah. (I gave her my old one a couple months ago)
Q: Do you foresee the tight end position group suffering with action because of the OC who may come in .. during the sumlin years we never were able to really utilize that position ?? We have a lot of potential there and I would hate seeing it go to waste (gatillero_76)
A: No, I don't think so. In fact, I could see them being utilized more, since they're short on wideouts and you’ve got three guys (Donovan Green, Jake Johnson and Platt) who can be split out as slots. The Aggies did that with Jace Sternberger and Jalen Wydermyer with a good bit of success.
Q: For possible portal transfer in, how much does the staff have to run things by current players to keep them from getting pissed off and hitting the portal, themselves? (QuickDrawMcGraw77)
A: I think they can pose the question like, “Hey, do you know so-and-so?” But these guys can also read a depth chart. They know A&M will be looking to fill areas of need, not taking guys for fun.
Q: Can you explain what happened with Malchow & N Williams?
And who has replaced them, albeit not very well? (Mozilla)
A: Malchow is longtime buddies with the head coach at Oregon. It was a natural move for him. Nick Williams left two weeks ago, so they haven't replaced him yet. Deion offered him a promotion. He took it.
Q: How many transfers do you suspect Jimbo will bring in? How many do you think he SHOULD bring in? (Mark93)
A: I don't know and 15.
Q: 1. Was the 2022 season a fluke due to injuries and bad coaching/play calling, or are we back in the rebuild mode for more seasons?
A: I’ve never seen a team deal with as many injuries as they did last year. That fluke won’t happen twice. They had some bad eggs and those were scrambled. The offense wasn’t good and it's changing. The 2022 class is largely intact, so improvement should come.
2. How badly did the staff whiff in need positions for the 2023 recruiting class?
A: I don’t think they did. They need to get more at linebacker, corner and wideout, but they did some good at all three.
3. Your frank evaluation of why so many highly rated players (coming out of high school) are in the transfer portal?
A: Arrogance, selfishness and impatience.
4. Finally, how's the shoulder and family doing? (Chuck70)
A: Shoulder is fine. Family is fine.
Q: I’ve seen a few recruiting experts say that NIL could be as high as 70% the reason why recruits choose a school to commit. Do you see that to be the case and how do see aTm stacking up against the rest with regards to NIL? (David123)
A: Oh, I hope that's the case because A&M’s gonna kill it in recruiting if it is. But I think the relationship players have with position coaches is largely overlooked in terms of importance.
Q: With the Early signing period mostly done. Who are. Couple of targets for the late signing period? Any new names to watch? (Guns-n-bone)
A: Like I said above, Caden Jones is still out there. I think they’ll go after some guys we haven’t heard about yet, because they have before. Three players in the Rivals 250 who are undecided are from Texas: WRs Mikal Harrison-Pilot of Temple, Jelani McDonald of Waco and Ashton Porter of Cy-Ranch. In terms of existing offers, there's not many left out there.
Q: OL targets in portal?
WR targets? (Tschaar)
A: Don't really know at this point. It's almost like the opposite of normal recruiting; guys aren't really rushing to Twitter to announce their offers.
Q: I heard from an Ag in the know that two of our portal exits had 0.0 grade-point averages. Worthless. It’s almost like they just figure they can never go to class or study and just transfer around for 3 years making money and hoping to go pro.
did you hear that?
A: No, but it wouldn't surprise me or be the first time.
2) how can they get into another school? (Wundy)
A: Some may not. But there are schools A&M plays on a yearly basis and some they used to play on a yearly basis that don't give a diddly-spit about such things.
Q: 1. How much input will new OC have on staffing?
A: I think he'll definitely have a say. Let's face it, most of them haven’t showered themselves with glory the past couple of years.
2. More 2 back sets next year? Will Crownover still be "designated FB," if so?
A: I would like to see more 2-back sets, and yeah, I think Crownover would be that guy.
3. Does 24 start next to Cooper? Will Harris play more than Russell as season progresses?
A: I think he does start next to Cooper — he did this year. And Harris will definitely play a good bit. He impressed down the stretch.
4. Where does Bobby Taylor play?
A: Corner. They need him there.
5. Traditional Christmas guy, e.g. all presents opened on morning of or allowing something like opening only one on Christmas Eve? (JustAvgIllini)
A: When I was growing up in Saudi Arabia, Santa or Father Christmas (depending on whether it was an American or a Brit) would show up Christmas Eve and we got one present to open then. The rest were Christmas morning. We pretty much stick to that same deal now.
Q: One more.
Why no JUCO? (Wundy)
A: Ah, one of my pet peeves, the idea that JUCO is the cure for whatever ails you. Not a shot at Mr. Wundy at all; that's a common thought. And sometimes, the JUCO ranks are just plain thin. This year, they’re really thin. I also think that the transfer portal is taking some steam out of JUCOs, because it may be easier just to snag a kid who had been playing at, say, North Carolina than it is to go on a roadie to Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.
Q: Do you always agree with the guys we recruit (seems like usually you like what you see from recruits) or are there ever some head scratchers (answer could be from this or previous coaching groups).
A: I remember a long time ago, way before I took over, I heard a story about one player Mike Sherman's staff was REALLY talking up. The game film came in and the people in charge of site X (maybe it was this one, maybe it wasn’t; the names will be changed to protect the innocent) threw it out. It was too terrible to show subscribers. I have never had that problem. Most tapes are so carefully put together that you only see the very best plays, but you can still see the general characteristics of the player. And there have been times when I've watched film and been like, “Well, we’re waiting..”
Are there any red flags that stand out to you in hudl tapes? (Pharm11)
A: Oh, sure. Lack of hustle, a look of initial confusion before sheer athleticism kicks in, and one that has started to gnaw on more more the past year or so: when a guy makes a play and celebrates by himself and no teammates join him. That has become increasingly telling.
Q:Looking at your Dec 9 roster by class and position.
Was this based on their current semester standing, i.e. Max a junior redshirt, Kenyon Jackson a senior redshirt or was this what they will be next year?
A: That is what they will be next year.
Is there a final list of who went into the portal/expelled, and which seniors are choosing to come back? (DentonAg80)
A: No, because it’s not done yet.
Q: Will ERCOT screw us again? (86Aggie)
A: Sure hope not.
Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.
